§ 7-211 Employer's Written Safe/Sick Time and Paid Prenatal Leave Policies.
RCNY § 7-211
(a)Every employer shall maintain written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies in a single writing and follow such written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies except as allowed in subdivision (d) of this section.
(b)Every employer must distribute its written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies to employees personally upon commencement of employment, within 14 days of the effective date of any changes to the policy, and upon request by the employee.
(c)An employer’s written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies must meet or exceed all of the requirements of the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act and this subchapter and must address the following: (1) The employer’s method of calculating safe/sick time as follows: (i) If an employer provides employees with an amount of safe/sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act on the first day of employment and on the first day of each new calendar year, which for the purposes of this section is defined as “frontloaded safe/sick time”, then the employer’s written safe/sick time policy must specify the amount of frontloaded safe/sick time to be provided and that such frontloaded time is immediately available for use; (ii) If the employer does not apply frontloaded safe/sick time, then the employer’s written safe/sick time policy must specify that accrual of safe/sick time starts at commencement of employment, the rate at which an employee accrues safe/sick time and that an employee may use safe/sick time as it accrues; (2) The availability of a separate bank of 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week calendar period, in accordance with 6 RCNY § 7-216.
(3)The employer’s policies regarding the use of safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave, including any limitations or conditions the employer places on the use of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave, such as: (i) Any requirement that an employee provide notice of a need to use safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave and the procedures for doing so in accordance with 6 RCNY § 7-205; (ii) Any requirement for reasonable written documentation or confirmation of the use of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave in accordance with §§ 20-914(a)(2), 20-914(b)(2), or 20-914(d) of the Administrative Code and 6 RCNY §§ 7-206 and 7-216, and the employer’s policy regarding any consequences of an employee’s failure or delay in providing such documentation or confirmation; (iii) Any reasonable minimum increment or fixed period for the use of accrued safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave as set forth in 6 RCNY § 7-204; (iv) Any policy on discipline for employee misuse of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave under 6 RCNY § 7-215; and (v) A statement that the employer will not ask the employee to provide details about the medical condition that led the employee to use sick time or paid prenatal leave, or the personal situation that led the employee to use safe time, and that any information the employer receives about the employee’s use of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave will be kept confidential and not disclosed to anyone without the employee’s written permission or as required by law.
(4)The employer’s policy regarding carry-over of unused safe/sick time at the end of an employer’s calendar year in accordance with § 20-913(h) of the Administrative Code; and, (5) If an employer uses a term other than “safe/sick time” or “safe and sick time” to describe leave provided by the employer to meet the requirements of the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act and this subchapter, the employer’s policy must state that such leave may be used by an employee for any of the purposes set forth in the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act and this subchapter without any condition prohibited by the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act or this subchapter. Terms used to describe such leave may include, but are not necessarily limited to, “paid time off” (“PTO”), vacation time, personal days, or days of rest.
(d)Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent an employer from making exceptions to its written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies for individual employees that are more generous to the employee than the terms of the employer’s written policy.
(e)Requirements relating to an employer’s additional and separate obligation to provide employees with a Notice of Rights under the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act are set forth in § 20-919 of the Administrative Code and 6 RCNY § 7-107. An employer may not distribute the Notice of Rights required by § 20-919 of the Administrative Code or any other department writing in lieu of distributing its own written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies as required by this section.
(f)An employer that has not provided to the employee a copy of its written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies along with any forms or procedures required by the employer related to the use of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave shall not deny permission to use safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave, payment of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave, or take adverse actions as set forth in § 20-918 of the Administrative Code against the employee based on non-compliance with such a policy. (Amended City Record 2/3/2016, eff. 3/4/2016; amended City Record 11/28/2017, eff. 11/28/2017; amended City Record 8/21/2018, eff. 9/20/2018; amended City Record 9/15/2023, eff. 10/15/2023; amended City Record 6/2/2025, eff. 7/2/2025)
